Wimbledon 2022: First list of men’s and women’s singles wildcards ft. Serena Williams, Stan Wawrinka & others

Tennis action is currently underway on grass in the lead-up to Wimbledon. But the organizers have already gone ahead and announced their first list of wildcards, with Serena Williams and Stan Wawrinka being the headlining names.

23-time Major winner Serena Williams is set to make her comeback to tennis exactly 12 months after suffering a foot injury at the All England Club. Williams was the only non-Brit to feature on the ladies' singles wildcard list, which included home players Jodie Burrage, Katie Boutler, Sony Kartal, Yuriko Miyazaki and Katie Swan.

Katie Boutler also featured on the entry list.

The gentlemen's singles list of wildcards also featured a multi-Grand Slam champion in the form of Stan Wawrinka. Notably, Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam trophy missing from Wawrinka's cabinet.

The Swiss' best showings at SW19 have been quarterfinal runs in the 2014 and 2015 editions of the tournament.

Home hopes Jay Clarke, Liam Broady, Alastair Gray, Paul Jubb and Ryan Peniston also feature on the list, as does recently-crowned Libema Open champion Tim Van Rijthoven.

Van Rijthoven stunned the tennis world by lifting the trophy at his home event last week, in what was the first tournament where he even registered a main-draw match win. The Dutchman beat the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz en route to the title.

Here is the initial list of men and women who have received wildcards for the 2022 Wimbledon Championships:

Men's singles:

Liam Broady (GBR)

Jay Clarke (GBR)

Alastair Gray (GBR)

Paul Jubb (GBR)

Ryan Peniston (GBR)

Tim Van Rijthoven (NED)

Stan Wawrinka (SUI)

Women's singles:

Katie Boutler (GBR)

Jodie Burrage (GBR)

Sonay Kartal (GBR)

Yuriko Miyazaki (GBR)

Katie Swan (GBR)

Serena Williams (USA)

Serena Williams will be one of two multiple-time Wimbledon champions in the field this year

Williams at the Wumbledon Championships 2021.

Serena Williams will be one of only two players — the other being Petra Kvitova — with multiple Wimbledon titles in this year's draw. Serena's sister Venus Williams, also a multiple-time Wimbledon champion, did not feature on the entry list.

Serena Williams last played a professional match at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, suffering a foot injury during her first-round encounter against Aliaksandra Sasnoivch. Her time away from the court has seen her drop out of the top 1000 in the world rankings, but she will certainly be a name that every player would want to avoid in the opening rounds.

The main draw action for the 2022 Wimbledon Championships will commence on June 27. The remaining wildcards are expected to be announced in the coming days.